Basic Info & Policies

Privacy Policy

I will do all I can to protect your family’s privacy, keeping all records and information about your child and your family confidential, unless I have your written permission to reveal specific information. I ask that you also respect the privacy of my family.

Faith

I am a Christian, and that influences the lives of the children in my care in many positive ways. You can be assured that the activities, stories, and music we take part in are wholesome, and that the values the children learn from me are positive and uplifting. I use a wide variety of resources and activities, including Bible stories and Christian music. We may pray before meals and if someone is sick or hurt. Christmas and Easter are celebrated as Christian holidays. By enrolling your child here, you signify that you are aware of this and have no objections to it in relation to my provision of care for your child. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to discuss them with me.

Enrollment and Trial Period

The enrollment procedure generally follows this pattern but can be altered as needed:

First visit: outside of day care hours, with your children. We will get acquainted, discuss needs, my service, policies, methodology, etc., and tour the day care area. If we both feel good about the situation, we will arrange for another visit when there are children here.

Second visit: (optional) Short play visit when there are other children here. This gives us opportunity to observe your child with the other children and for you to observe my interactions with the children.

Enrollment meeting: outside of day care hours. We will go through the policies and contract, and complete paperwork. All forms must be completed and first week’s pay received before children can stay.

Trial Period: There will be a two-week trial period to determine if the child and the situation are a good match. There is no contractual obligation during this period. At the end of the trial period, if we are in agreement about care continuing, our contract goes into effect.

I will work with you as needed to ease your child’s transition into care in my home. Some ideas:

Take a photo of your child(ren) with me during first visit.

Have your child come for short time, lunch or snack time, without parent for a day or two.

I will be creating a little picture booklet that includes photos of me, my home, and some of our activities that you can take home after our initial visit.

Mandated Reporter

I am a state-mandated reporter of suspected physical or sexual abuse of children. This means that if I have reason to believe that any child in my care has been neglected or abused, I am required by state law to report this to Children’s Services. If you suspect that any child in my program is being physically or sexually abused, please talk to me immediately.

Referrals & Testimonials

Referrals from a current client are one of the biggest compliments I can receive. As a special thank you, I offer families a free day of care for each referral that enrolls. Your free day will be deducted from your weekly fee after the referred child has attended for 3 weeks.

I count it a great privilege to have the opportunity to partner with you in nurturing your child’s healthy development. The cooperative partnership between us is extremely important in ensuring quality care. We will communicate daily about your children’s needs, experiences, growth, and development. Please inform me of any change in their schedule, routine or home environment. I will do the same for changes in my business that affect your child. We will chat when you drop off and pick up your child, but if we need to talk more in-depth about anything, we need to arrange a time in the evening or on a weekend for that. Please don’t ever hesitate to come to me with suggestions, questions, or concerns. We are in this together!

Records

I will keep the following records for each child. Please notify me as soon as possible if any of this information needs to be updated.

A signed consent form to obtain emergency medical care or emergency dental treatment

Backup Child Care

You must have an alternate day care provider in the event that I am unavailable for any reason (Illness, vacation, doctor’s appointments, training, etc.), or when your child is ill and cannot attend.

Bad Weather

Notify me as soon as possible if your child will not be coming due to bad weather. My program will not close specifically due to weather, but on a rare occasion may have to close due to weather-related issues (power out, impassable roads and driveway, water out, etc.) I will notify you as soon as possible if I must close due to a weather-related calamity.

I do my best to keep the driveway and sidewalk clear of snow and ice in the winter, but bad weather conditions don’t always make it possible to keep things clear. Please take care when dropping off and picking up your child. If conditions are too bad for using the daycare sidewalk, you may enter through the front door but we need to arrange for that ahead of time so I have the dogs confined to the bedroom when you arrive.

Parent Access

You are welcome to drop in for a visit anytime your child is here. I ask that you not come just prior to or during naptime (1-3pm-ish) so as not to disrupt the children’s napping. If you would like to join us for lunch or snack from time to time, please let me know. Parents are free to call at any time to see how their child is doing. Calls will go to voicemail when I am busy with the children, but I will return your call as soon as possible.

Activities/Curriculum

Stuart Brown, author of Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul said in an interview, “…evidence continues to accumulate that the learning of emotional control, social competency, personal resiliency and continuing curiosity plus other life benefits accrue largely through rich developmentally appropriate play experiences.” Play is vital. It isn’t just for fun but is an essential component of learning. Unstructured free play is particularly important.

My program is play-based, with activities that primarily flow from the focus and interests of the children. The children benefit from a wide variety of age-appropriate activities, experiences, and interactions that help ensure they are ready for school when the time comes. I will provide you with photos and descriptions of some of our activities so you feel more a part of what goes on here. I don’t allow the children to watch TV unless we are watching a specific children’s educational program or viewing appropriate children’s videos/DVDs. Generally these are children’s music videos.

Our daily schedule is flexible, yet designed to promote your child’s development and creativity through a variety of activities and experiences. We follow a general routine that provides a familiar framework for our days. It looks something like this:

(Although not specifically listed, included in these times are bathroom breaks, toilet training, diaper changing, hand washing, and cleaning up.)

Birthday and Holiday Celebrations

We celebrate the birthdays of the children in my care on or near the date of their birthday. I ask you not to bring presents for these celebrations. The children also do not exchange gifts for Christmas. If you would like to bring a treat for your child’s birthday, please let me know and we will include that in our celebration.

Clothing

Please bring an extra set of clothing for your child, including shirt, pants, underwear and socks. You may bring these daily, or leave a set of clothes here. If your child is being toilet-trained, please bring two extra sets of clothing and a plastic sealable bag.

During winter, bring clothes for outdoor play, including a jacket, hat, mittens/gloves, snowsuit/snowpants, and boots. In the summertime, please provide a swimsuit, sunscreen, and a towel for water play.

Play is often messy business. Expect your children to get dirty and dress them accordingly. If your child has her heart set on wearing her pretty dress or fancy shoes, that is fine, but please bring play clothes she can change into. Clothes and children will get dirty so please don’t expect otherwise.

Naps and Quiet Time

All the children will take a nap or observe a quiet resting time after lunch. Each child has his or her own clean and separate mat or bedding for this time. You may bring a special blanket or other security item for your child if desired. Infants and toddlers sleep in pack ‘n’ play type beds until they reach the age where they can safely sleep in a regular bed. I may ask you to provide a pack ‘n’ play for your child, if needed.

Toilet Training

I am happy to help you with toilet training your child and will use only positive, encouraging methods as the child learns this important skill. I generally discourage the use of pull-ups during this process, except during nap times, because they eliminate the natural consequence that help a child learn. I will discuss with you the terminology you use for body parts and toileting so that we are using similar terminology. Most often I use “pee” for urine, and “poop” or “poopy” for bowel movements.

Toys

I have a large and varied supply of toys and materials for the children and ask that you not bring toys from home. I will not be responsible for lost or broken toys, and personal toys can create conflicts between the children. The only exception would be that you can bring one special soft doll or stuffed animal that is only brought out at naptime.

Transportation

Due to the ages of children in my care, I do not provide transportation of any kind at this time. We are in Liberty Elementary school district and may be able to arrange bus transportation for school-age children. I cannot pick up a school-age child from school due to illness and I cannot be listed as an emergency contact in case of illness or injury during your child’s school day.